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OFTEN an “unplugged” session by an artist reveals an extra dimension to their music, stripping it down to essential components and revealing hitherto unconsidered depths.
Not so, it seems, with Graham Parker. Solo, with only an acoustic or electric guitar as accompaniment, he stands somewhat naked in the spotlight, unable to reinterpret his work in a way that does it full justice.
Few of the 19 songs he delivers to an attentive and supportive audience sound as good as the originals and, more disconcertingly, many of them — even classics such as Howlin’ Wind and White Honey — feel as if they have lost their very essence.
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